Crafty Santa Claus is coming to Leamington

Families will be able to meet the famous man in red and, with the help of gallery staff, create a variety of Christmas decorations to take home.

As well as their own creations, every child who attends will take home a special gift presented to them by Santa.

The gallery’s events officer Nadia Wazera said: “This free event will be lots of fun and will really get you in the Christmas mood. We hope that lots of families will join us to soak up the festive atmosphere and take part in some fun crafty activities.”

The event takes place on Saturday December 8 from noon to 3pm and there is no need to book - people can just drop in at some point during the afternoon.

Also taking place at the gallery are the usual free Friday Focus sessions today (Friday) and next week. Today’s speaker will be Jim Layton, author of Black People in Warwickshire’s Past, who will share historic connections between Leamington, Warwickshire and the wider world, 25 years on from the original research. The talk starts at 1pm and lasts for around 15 minutes.

And little artists are being invited to try out simple art activities - suitable for under-fives - at the gallery’s Art Tots sessions, the next one falling on Wednesday (December 5), on a drop-in basis from 11am to noon. These workshops take place at the same time on the first Wednesday of every month.

Children must be accompanied by an adult at all events and sessions. To find out more, call 742700.